Intentional Injuries: The experiance from Dodoma Regional Hospital, Central Tanzania

No Abstrac

The Effect of Tobacco Snuff Consumption on Liver Enzymes

This study was designed to investigate the changes in liver biochemical profile following oral tobacco dust ingestion. Adult Wistar rats (42) weighing 150-300g were involved. They were divided into four groups; group A serving as control, while groups B, C and D served as the test groups. The test groups were further divided into four groups (B1, C1, D1; B2, C2, D2; B3, C3, D3; and B4, C4, D4) representing four experimental phases/duration of 2, 4, 6 and 8 weeks respectively. The rats were fed with varying doses of tobacco dust mixed with potash. At the end of each phase, the animals were sacrificed and blood sample collected into lithium heparin and EDTA containers. Liver parameters (AST, ALT, ALP and GGT) were assayed and the results obtained showed statistically significant impairment of liver function. There was significant increase (p<0.05) in serum AST, ALT, and GGT levels in the different phases when the test groups were compared with the control. However, ALP shows no statistically significant increase in all the groups throughout the experiment. The results of this study suggest that potash-tobacco dust (local tobacco snuff) is toxic to the liver and the observed changes were dose and duration dependent.Keywords: tobacco, potash, liver function, liver enzymes

Cross-sections for heavy atmospheres: H₂O continuum

Most of the exoplanets detected up to now transit in front of their host stars, allowing for the generation of transmission spectra; the study of exoplanet atmospheres relies heavily upon accurate analysis of these spectra. Recent discoveries mean that the study of atmospheric signals from low-mass, temperate worlds are becoming increasingly common. The observed transit depth in these planets is small and more difficult to analyze. Analysis of simulated transmission spectra for two small, temperate planets (GJ 1214 b and K2-18 b) is presented, giving evidence for significant differences in simulated transit depth when the water vapor continuum is accounted for when compared to models omitting it. These models use cross-sections from the CAVIAR lab experiment for the water self-continuum up to 10,000 cm−1; these cross-sections exhibit an inverse relationship with temperature, hence lower-temperature atmospheres are the most significantly impacted. Including the water continuum strongly affects transit depths, increasing values by up to 60 ppm, with the differences for both planets being detectable with the future space missions Ariel and JWST. It is imperative that models of exoplanet spectra move toward adaptive cross-sections, increasingly optimized for H2O-rich atmospheres. This necessitates including absorption contribution from the water vapor continuum into atmospheric simulations

Circadian period and the timing of melatonin onset in men and women: Predictors of sleep during the weekend and in the laboratory

Sleep complaints and irregular sleep patterns, such as curtailed sleep during workdays and longer and later sleep during weekends, are common. It is often implied that differences in circadian period and in entrained phase contribute to these patterns, but few data are available. We assessed parameters of the circadian rhythm of melatonin at baseline and in a forced desynchrony protocol in 35 participants (18 women) with no sleep disorders. Circadian period varied between 23 h 50 min and 24 h 31 min, and correlated positively (n = 31, rs = 0.43, P = 0.017) with the timing of the melatonin rhythm relative to habitual bedtime. The phase of the melatonin rhythm correlated with the Insomnia Severity Index (n = 35, rs = 0.47, P = 0.004). Self-reported time in bed during free days also correlated with the timing of the melatonin rhythm (n = 35, rs = 0.43, P = 0.01) as well as with the circadian period (n = 31, rs = 0.47, P = 0.007), such that individuals with a more delayed melatonin rhythm or a longer circadian period reported longer sleep during the weekend. The increase in time in bed during the free days correlated positively with circadian period (n = 31, rs = 0.54, P = 0.002). Polysomnographically assessed latency to persistent sleep (n = 34, rs = 0.48, P = 0.004) correlated with the timing of the melatonin rhythm when participants were sleeping at their habitual bedtimes in the laboratory. This correlation was significantly stronger in women than in men (Z = 2.38, P = 0.017). The findings show that individual differences in circadian period and phase of the melatonin rhythm associate with differences in sleep, and suggest that individuals with a long circadian period may be at risk of developing sleep problems

Risk factors for death in HIV-infected adult african patients recieving anti-retroviral therapy

Objective: To determine risk factors for death in HIV-infected African patients on anti-retroviral therapy (ART).Design: Retrospective Case-control study.Setting: The MOH-USAID-AMPATH Partnership ambulatory HIV-care clinics in western Kenya.Results: Between November 2001 and December 2005 demographic, clinical and laboratory data from 527 deceased and 1054 living patients receiving ART were compared to determine independent risk factors for death. Median age at ART initiation was 38 versus 36 years for the deceased and living patients respectively (p<0.0148). Mediantime from enrollment at AMPATH to initiation of ART was two weeks for both groups while median time on ART was eight weeks for the deceased and fourty two weeks for the living (p<0.0001). Patients with CD4 cell counts <100/mm3 were more likely to die than those with counts >100/mm3 (HR=1.553. 95% CI (1.156, 2.087), p<0.003). Patientsattending rural clinics had threefold higher risk of dying compared to patients attending clinic at a tertiary referral hospital (p<0.0001). Two years after initiating treatment fifty percent of non-adherent patients were alive compared to 75% of adherent patients. Male gender, WHO Stage and haemoglobin level <10 grams% were associated with time to death while age, marital status, educational level, employment status andweight were not.Conclusion: Profoundly immunosuppressed patients were more likely to die early in the course of treatment. Also, patients receiving care in rural clinics were at greater risk of dying than those receiving care in the tertiary referral hospital

Bilateral dilation of the urinary tract due to iliopsoas pyomyositis: a case report

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Introduction</p> <p>Pyomyositis is an acute bacterial infection of the skeletal muscles that arises from hematogenous spread and is caused predominantly by Gram-positive cocci.</p> <p>Case presentation</p> <p>We report a case of iliopsoas pyomyositis in a 25-year-old Greek Caucasian woman with a history of intravenous drug use. Her condition was complicated by bilateral dilation of the ureters and renal calyces as a result of mechanical pressure from inflammation and edema of the involved muscle. The patient did not present aggravation of renal function and was treated successfully solely with intravenous antibiotics, without surgical intervention. This is the first case report describing iliopsoas pyomyositis with reversible bilateral dilation of the urinary tract that was treated successfully with intravenous antibiotics, without surgical intervention.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>We present the first described case of iliopsoas pyomyositis with reversible bilateral hydroureteronephrosis that was treated successfully with intravenous antibiotics, without the necessity of surgical intervention. To our knowledge, this is the first report of its kind in the literature regarding an unexpected event in the course of treating a patient with iliopsoas pyomyositis, and it should be of particular interest to different clinical medical specialties such as internal medicine, infectious disease and urology.</p

Validation of the psychometric properties of the health-promoting lifestyle profile in a sample of Taiwanese women

PURPOSE: To examine the preliminary psychometric properties of the Chinese health-promoting lifestyle profile II (HPLP II) among Taiwanese women. METHODS: We conducted a secondary analysis of cross-sectional data from 137 middle-aged women in southern Taiwan. HPLP II reliability was estimated with Cronbach's alpha coefficient, and concurrent validity was estimated with Pearson's correlation between the HPLP II, the World Health Organization's abbreviated Quality of Life assessment (WHOQOL-BREF), perceived health, and demographic variables. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) evaluated construct validity. RESULTS: Initial CFA using a six-factor measurement model aligned with the original HPLP II, excepting the factor loading of one subsequently excluded item. CFA of the revised 51-item HPLP II yielded a good estimate of fit. Correlations between the revised instrument and the six subscales were acceptable >0.7. The Cronbach's alpha coefficient surpassed 0.7 for the revised instrument and six subscales ranged from 0.71 to 0.91. The relationships between the 51-item instrument, perceived health, WHOQOL-BREF domain scores, and demographic variables were also significantly positive. CONCLUSIONS: The revised HPLP II scale is appropriate to measure the health-promoting lifestyles of Taiwanese women.published_or_final_versionSpringer Open Choice, 21 Feb 201

Androgen receptor expresion in breast cancer: Relationship with clinicopathological characteristics of the tumors, prognosis, and expression of metalloproteases and their inhibitors

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>In the present study we analyze, in patients with breast cancer, the tumor expression of androgen receptors (AR), its relationship with clinicopathological characteristics and with the expression of several matrix metalloproteases (MMPs) and their inhibitors (TIMPs), as well as with prognosis.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>An immunohistochemical study was performed using tissue microarrays and specific antibodies against AR, MMPs -1, -2, -7, -9, -11, -13, -14, and TIMPs -1, -2 and -3. More than 2,800 determinations on tumor specimens from 111 patients with primary invasive ductal carcinoma of the breast (52 with axillary lymph node metastases and 59 without them) and controls were performed. Staining results were categorized using a score based on the intensity of the staining and a specific software program calculated the percentage of immunostained cells automatically.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>A total of 83 cases (74.8%) showed a positive immunostaining for AR, but with a wide variation in the staining score values. There were no significant associations between the total immunostaining scores for AR and any clinicopathological parameters. However, score values for MMP-1, -7 and -13, were significantly higher in AR-positive tumors than in AR-negative tumors. Likewise, when we considered the cellular type expressing each factor, we found that AR-positive tumors had a higher percentage of cases positive for MMP-1, -7, -11, and TIMP-2 in their malignant cells, as well as for MMP-1 in intratumoral fibroblasts. On the other hand, multivariate analysis demonstrated that patients with AR-positive tumors have a significant longer overall survival than those with AR-negative breast carcinomas (<it>p </it>= 0.03).</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Our results confirm that AR are commonly expressed in breast cancer, and are correlated with the expression of some MMPs and TIMP-2. Although we found a specific value of AR expression to be a prognostic indicator in breast cancer, the functional role of AR in these neoplasms is still unclear and further data are needed in order to clarify their biological signification in breast cancer.</p

Prevention of Apoptosis by Mitochondrial Phosphatase PGAM5 in the Mushroom Body Is Crucial for Heat Shock Resistance in Drosophila melanogaster

The heat shock (HS) response is essential for survival of all organisms. Although the machinery of the HS response has been extensively investigated at the cellular level, it is poorly understood at the level of the organism. Here, we show the crucial role of the mushroom body (MB) in the HS response in Drosophila. Null mutants of the mitochondrial phosphatase Drosophila PGAM5 (dPGAM5) exhibited increased vulnerability to HS, which was reversed by MB-specific expression of the caspase inhibitor p35, and similar vulnerability was induced in wild-type flies by knockdown of MB dPGAM5. Elimination of the MB did not affect the HS response of wild-type flies, but did increase the resistance of dPGAM5-deficient flies to HS. Thus, the MB may possess an apoptosis-dependent toxic function, the suppression of which by dPGAM5 appears to be crucial for HS resistance